Daily Mail Reporter Claudia Connell tried the latest health fad: The sensation is certainly a curious one, she said. It feels like someone is trying to clean my hand with the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner, but every now and then I feel a sharp prickle as though I’ve brushed against a stinging nettle. I’m undergoing my first session of leech therapy.

Attached to my hand and hoovering up my blood at a rate of knots are two fat, juicy, black leeches.

When they started half-an-hour ago, they were the same thickness as a garden worm. But having treated the back of my hand and wrist like an all-you-can-eat buffet, they have quadrupled in size, engorged with my blood.

Swedish therapist Maryam Rahbari is the brains behind the UK’s first dedicated leech treatment center, where an hour-long session costs £75. She’s evangelical about leeches’ healing powers and regularly undergoes treatment herself for aches and pains.

‘I was a beauty therapist for years,’ she tells me. ‘Then one day I read a story about how surgeons were using leeches in modern medicine to restore blood flow, and I quickly became fascinated by how they work.’

There are almost 700 different species of leeches - some are land-based, some marine and some freshwater.

When leeches suck blood, they release anti-clotting, blood-thinning chemicals, which allow continuous blood circulation. This is vital in procedures such as skin-grafting or limb, finger and toe reattachments.

In 2011, when a Swedish woman was horrifically injured in a dog attack, surgeons repaired much of the damage with the aid of more than 300 leeches.

Many alternative therapists like Maryam are convinced by the healing power of leeches for other illnesses, too. There are scientific studies that suggest leech therapy may be beneficial for a host of ailments, including arthritis, shingles and varicose veins.

Other people like to use them as a beauty treatment, including Hollywood actress Demi Moore, 51, who travels to Austria for the leech therapy she credits for her youthful looks.

There’s also anecdotal evidence that leeches can help with migraines and headaches thanks to the pain- relieving chemicals in their saliva.

This is why I visit Maryam — I suffer from lots of headaches, and painkillers don’t really work for me.

Maryam’s sterile, white rooms in London’s Harley Street look much like any spa, save for a giant jar of leeches swimming in water. Suddenly, the idea of them slithering over my face and neck doesn’t exactly delight me.

But, as it turns out, the leeches aren’t too thrilled at the prospect either. Maryam had already warned me not to use any heavy perfumes or body lotions as their smell can repel the leeches, stopping them from attaching. I had showered that morning in nothing but warm water but the leeches still weren’t keen. I’ve faced rejection in my time, but being snubbed by a leech is a new low.

‘Sometimes leeches just don’t take to a person,’ says Maryam. ‘It might be your shampoo, what you ate last night, or it could be that your blood is too thick or too sweet. They like the taste of salt though, so sweaty people are good.’

As my neck has been rejected, Maryam tries to attach a leech to my right hand. Being a writer means I have a repetitive strain injury in my wrist. Maryam assures me the leeches will sort it out — again thanks to their pain- relieving chemicals.

A leech eventually sinks its teeth in, and I feel a sharp nip like a bee sting. It’s quickly joined by another thirsty companion. This being my first treatment, I am only permitted to have two leeches as I am expected to bleed for a long time afterwards.  As you have more treatments, your body builds up immunity to the leeches’ chemicals, meaning you can subject yourself to a greater number. Maryam’s tells me her most regular client has 70 attached all over his body in a single session.

Maryam explains that the leeches are hermaphrodites, meaning they have male and female reproductive parts, and each one has 300 tiny teeth and three sets of jaws.

After they’re removed, the blood flows and my hand is heavily bandaged to mop up the damage. Maryam tells me I should expect to bleed for 12 hours.

The next day, the wound is still wet but the bleeding has stopped. The leeches have each left a distinct Y-shaped mark where they sunk their teeth in — it truly looks as though I’ve been bitten by a vampire.

A fortnight after the treatment, the marks have still not faded — but my wrist has not hurt once. I’m currently writing a book and have been typing on my laptop more than ever yet I’ve not had a single twinge. Nothing.

Maybe it’s just the strangest of coincidences or maybe those slippery little suckers really do possess magical, if yucky, healing powers. I, for one, am convinced.